The Missionaries and the Guomindang: An exploration of the Seventh-day Adventist Experience in Republican China Ruth Crocombe BEd (History), Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics (TESOL), Post-graduate Diploma in Arts (History). A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2015 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry 1 ABSTRACT Seventh-day Adventists were late entrants to the China mission field, arriving in China in the first decade of the 20th century. Despite this late start however, by the 1920s the Seventh-day Adventist church had established a large network of schools and hospitals across China. In addition to providing educational and medical services free (or at low cost) to the poor, the medical institutions also serviced wealthy fee paying patients. Much of the initial contact between Seventh-day Adventist missionaries and prominent Guomindang officials and other members of the societal elite originated at the Adventist Shanghai Sanitarium and Hospital. Seventh-day Adventist medical centres in other cities also served this function. As a result Adventist missionaries became acquainted with numerous Guomindang officials and other members of the political elite. Although there is a wealth of popular literature produced by Seventh-day Adventists relating to the activities of the denomination in China, as noted above, there has been little academic study. Specifically, the personal relationships between Western Seventh-day Adventist missionaries and members of the Nationalist government, and the denomination’s representation of Chiang Kai-shek and the Guomindang have not been studies by historians. This thesis is the first scholarly work to focus on the Seventh-day Adventist church’s work in Nationalist China and the first to examine the impact which the church’s writings about China had on the global Seventh-day Adventist community. A contributing factor to this neglect of the Seventh-day Adventist church by historians, including those of the Seventh- day Adventist church itself, is due to the concentration by Seventh-day Adventists on the narrative of mission rather than on the academic study of the denomination’s experience in China. The writings of Seventh-day Adventists about China are important because they are little studied source giving insight into China during a critical point of its history. These writings also provide insight into the development of the Seventh-day Adventist church during the twentieth century, particularly in regards to the denomination’s self-perception and its theology. This thesis examines the intersections between the Seventh-day Adventist church and China. The portrayals of times of difficulty in China in denominational literature were used to bolster church members’ belief in the distinctive eschatological theology of the denomination; and this distinctive theology also influenced the response of the denomination to the situation in China itself. Unlike many other Protestant denominations the Seventh-day Adventist church did not withdraw its missionaries or slow down the building of institutions following the Anti-Christian Movement of the early 1920s, but rather increased the amount of funds and personnel to the country. Discussion of China was also used as a fund-raiser for missions more generally. The political connections which individual missionaries formed with members of the Guomindang elite were publicised initially in the Church’s most widely distributed and important periodical, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (Review) and later in biographies of these missionaries’ lives. The formation of political connections served to raise the profiles of these missionaries within the denomination. The 1960s and ‘70s saw a resurgence of publishing about the church’s experience China by Seventh-day Adventist. 2 Writing about China at this time took the form of missionary biographies and autobiographies and these works placed great emphasis on past connections with the Guomindang elite. This was due to the relocation of church resources and missionaries to Taiwan following the Chinese Revolution and was also an attempt to reassure church members that despite the loss of institutions and property in China the mission of the denomination remained the same. 3 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. 4 Publications during candidature No publications. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. 5 Acknowledgements I’d like to thank my supervisors, Associate Professor Chi-Kong Lai and Dr Patrick Jory for their guidance and feedback during the writing of this thesis. Thanks must also go to the staff in the Center for Adventist Research located at Andrews University in Michigan and to the staff at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Archives in Washington D.C. who were very helpful to my search for information relating to Seventh-day Adventism in China during the first half of the twentieth century. Thank you to my husband, Jeff Crocombe for his support and encouragement during this process. Finally thank you to my daughter, Araminta for understanding that Mummy couldn’t always play because she had to work on her thesis. 6 Keywords china, christian missionaries, seventh-day adventist, guomindang, protestant missionaries Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 220401, Christian Studies, 80% ANZSRC code: 210302, Asian Studies, 20% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103, Historical Studies, 60% FoR code: 2204, Religion and Religious Studies, 40% 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1: Seventh-day Adventist Connections with China’s Political Elite ................................... 18 The Development of Seventh-day Adventist Relationships With the Political Elite ................... 18 The Role of Miller and the Sanitariums and Hospitals in Forging Elite Connections .................. 20 Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institutions ........................................................................... 24 Requests to Supply Employees to Non-SDA Institutions and the Denominational Response ..... 27 Seventh-day Adventist Involvement in Political Issues ................................................................ 31 The Seventh-day Adventist Relationship with Zhang Xueliang ................................................... 34 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 2: Talking About China: Influences on the Seventh-day Adventist Community ................. 41 The Importance of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (Review) .......................................... 42 Early Seventh-day Adventist Representations of China ............................................................... 43 SDA Missionary Activity in China and its Influence on the Denomination’s Eschatology ......... 43 Funding the Missions .................................................................................................................... 51 Discussing the Spirituality of China’s Elite. ................................................................................. 52 The Nationalist Regime in Seventh-day Adventist Writings ........................................................ 55 Comparisons with Other Protestant Denominations ..................................................................... 62 Impact of China on Seventh-day Adventist Identity ....................................................................